WASHINGTON

The US Treasury Department announced sanctions Tuesday against eight individuals and two entities for their involvement in laundering funds from "illicit schemes" conducted by North Korea, including cybercrime and overseas IT worker exploitation.

"North Korean state-sponsored hackers steal and launder money to fund the regime’s nuclear weapons program,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John K. Hurley.

“By generating revenue for Pyongyang’s weapons development, these actors directly threaten U.S. and global security. Treasury will continue to pursue the facilitators and enablers behind these schemes to cut off the DPRK’s illicit revenue streams," he added, referring to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea’s official name.

In a separate statement, the State Department said the US strongly condemns the activities of entities associated with North Korea, including those supporting the country's weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs in violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions.

"Today’s actions reaffirm our commitment to hold accountable those who target U.S. citizens and benefit the DPRK’s unlawful weapons programs," it added.